WAYLAND – As a superintendent, Patricia Kinsella says her job isn’t to be the smartest person in the room.

"We are smarter together,” the Lincoln assistant superintendent said.

A superintendent, though, should be the hardest worker and responsible, she said.

Kinsella, who has been in Lincoln since 2014 and has previously worked for the Brookline, Boston and Chelsea districts, is one of four finalists to replace Wayland Superintendent Paul Stein, who is retiring at the end of the school year. The other finalists, who are also assistant superintendents in their respective districts, are Joyce Edwards of the Franklin Public Schools, Sara Ahern of the Holliston Public Schools and Arthur Unobskey of the Gloucester Public Schools

Kinsella spent Wednesday visiting Wayland and answered questions from the School Committee and public for more than an hour Wednesday evening.

She said a superintendent’s most important job is to ensure students are safe emotionally and physically and encourage a respectful culture valuing inquiry and participation.

She praised Wayland as a district with veteran faculty, strong administrators and supportive parents.

As superintendent, she said she would initially need to listen, including to people who do not have children in the school district.

“I do think the budget is a moral document,” she said. “We pay for what we believe in.”

Thus, it is important to understand what people think about education in Wayland, she said.

Kinsella, a former bilingual teacher, said she loves the idea of a foreign language immersion program. But, Wayland officials, who are eyeing starting such a program, will have to face logistical and other challenges, she said.

Districts shouldn’t pursue technology initiatives just because others are doing so. Leaders should look at what students need to learn and see if technology can help. If it can, they should then explore how to add technology, she said.

Leaders must also be careful that young students do not spend too much time in front of devices, since that takes away from building with blocks and experimenting with finger painting, Kinsella said.

Wayland accepts students from Boston through the METCO program, an initiative with which Kinsella is familiar. She said she brings important insight from living in Boston and working in urban schools.

Kids, when they become adults, will face situations today’s educators cannot imagine. Students must be able to connect with others, seek out information, dissect arguments and be well-versed in the science of today, she said.

Kinsella said she hopes graduates “go forth able to fend for themselves and to do good in the world in whatever way they choose.”

The committee publicly interviewed Edwards on Monday and Ahern on Tuesday. It expects to interview Unobskey at 7 p.m. Friday in the School Committee Room at the Town Building.

Brian Benson can be reached at 508-626-3964 or bbenson@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @bbensonmwdn.